Romeo and Cinderella
by ElocinAkira
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a beautiful maiden. This is not her story. AU, Lightis.
1. Announcement

_Inspired by Romeo and Cinderella by Hatsune Miku. Let me know if I should continue. ^_^_

_Summary: Once upon a time, there was a beautiful maiden. This is not her story._

"_Don't let my love be tragic like Juliet's. Take me away from here; that's how I'm feeling." –Hatsune Miku_

* * *

The sound of the school's orchestra filled the small auditorium. I sat in the cold, hard metal seats. They were seriously hurting my butt while I tried to remember why we were called here. They had some sort of announcement to make, apparently for a fundraiser.

I sighed. I wasn't a big fan of orchestrated music, and didn't want to go to any fundraiser they had to offer. I had just wished they'd stop playing when the director cut them off.

"Today, we have a wonderful announcement to make!" he announced happily. "We will be holding a masquerade ball! Live music and dancing for all! Tickets are only $10, providing food and drink of course. Please come to support your school's wonderful orchestra!"

Everyone applauded and cheered. Of course everyone would love that. They were quite wise to choose that particular event. Unfortunately for them, I was not everyone. It would be a cold day in hell before I went to a ball _anywhere._

Serah tugged my arm excitedly. "Light! You have to come with me and Snow! Maybe you could go with Fang!"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Serah, firstly, I don't swing that way. Secondly, I do not want to go."

"Why not?" she complained, giving me her best pout. I looked at her and sighed.

"Okay, okay, just stop giving me that face. Seriously, you could bring a dog to tears with that face."

"Yay!" She hugged me tightly.

I wrapped one arm around her. "I will help you get ready and wait outside for you. But that is it."

"I guess it's better than nothing."

I stood up and stretched up, letting my back crack. I heard some boys laughing and screaming profanities. I was about to turn around to yell at them to shut the hell up when I felt something hard hit the back of my head. Not expecting it and being already slightly dizzy from the Maker awful headache I had, I fell forward, hitting my head on the top of the stage. There was a burst of white light, and then everything went black.

* * *

_I guess I started having one of those "I'm passed out and having a vision" things. I was in a club, it looked like. It was really dark of course with those strobe lights that gave me headaches. I seemed to not mind it as much though, probably because I wasn't really there._

_The music was that deep pulsing beat that always made people want to screw each other like crazy. Seriously, it was kind of gross to be surrounded by people practically humping each other on the dance floor._

_I looked around at the various faces in the crowd, seeing if there was anyone who looked slightly intelligent. Nope, pretty much everyone was humping, getting drunk, or eating each other's faces. _

_I sighed and almost left the place before quickly catching sight of the most handsome man I had ever seen in my life. I could tell just by looking at him that he had such grace and charm. As if sensing my thoughts, he looked at me and smiled charmingly, his eyes sparkling like jewels._

_Now, I had always thought of myself as a rather mature young woman. I didn't tolerate nonsense, all my teachers loved me, and I was an honor roll student. Most people pictured me as being a big public figure when I was older since I was so intelligent and had a cool head._

_But when that man laid eyes on me, I didn't feel like the woman I thought I was anymore. I felt like the teenage girl I truly was: stupid, clumsy, and awkward. He slid through the crowd toward me, taking my hand and kissing it like an old time gentleman would have. I didn't really know what came over me, but I instantly started to relax. His kiss and touch had soothed me and made me feel at a strange sense of peace._

_He looked in my eyes. We didn't say a word; we seemed to communicate with our eyes instead. I could tell he wanted to dance with me. I decided that since this wasn't real, I would do whatever I wanted. He smiled once more and led me to a place with more room for us to actually move._

_I let an easy smile slide on my face as we began to dance. It was still very cramped, so we were basically grinding. Who cared though? This was a dream!_

"_Claire, right?" he asked suddenly, still smiling._

_I nodded, letting my alias slide. "What's your name?"_

"_Noctis."_

"_Well, it's wonderful to meet you Noctis."_

_Strange as it was, I felt like I had known this man for all my life. It felt so right to be close to him. I knew in the back of my head somehow that he wouldn't let me down ever and that he would always make me feel absolutely beautiful. _

_I realized at that moment how much I missed just being Claire: fragile, sweet, and lovable, yet still somewhat of a badass. Well, around this Noctis, I would be no one but Claire._

"_Maybe we could go someplace more private for us to talk," he suggested._

_I nodded in agreement. He led me to an empty hallway near the bathrooms. We leaned against the wall and just talked. About school, about life, about anything and everything. I shared things with him I never would have shared with anyone else. As I finished my last story, he did something that shocked and confused me slightly._

_Surprising me, he leaned over and cupped my cheek gently. I flushed at the unexpected contact. His hand felt warm and smooth. He leaned in so his mouth was right by my ear. His hot breath tickled the sensitive skin there as he whispered to me._

_All too quickly the dream ended, and I was stuck with his strange words ringing in my head._

* * *

I woke up to the bright fluorescent lights of the nurse's office. I squinted against them; it was such a large difference from the lighting of my dream.

"Oh, you're okay!" I heard Serah exclaim. I looked up at her.

She looked like she had been extremely worried about me. Her brow was still slightly furrowed. Completely forgetting for a moment that I was back in reality, I smiled full-heartedly at her.

"I'm fine, Serah. Don't worry about me."

Her eyes were wide and a big grin was on her face. "You're smiling! You're actually smiling! Either you hit your head _really_ hard or you just had a _really_ good dream."

I chuckled and sat up slowly to keep myself from getting dizzy. I curiously felt my head. There was a bandage on my forehead, but that was about it. Not a serious injury.

I stood and stretched a little. Glancing around, I noticed that there was another person standing in the office, merely standing and smiling softly, looking painfully all too familiar. My mind was buzzing with confusion but one small voice in the back of my head repeated the words of my dream.

"_I finally found you, my little Cinderella."_

* * *

_And there you have it! Continue?_


	2. Meeting

_I didn't expect y'all to like this little bit…well, on with the story! ^_^ If you think Noctis is acting weird, he is supposed to act "strangely like an old-time gentleman." It's all planned. Oh, and just so you know, pairings in this story will be as follows:_

_Noctis/Lightning (duh)_

_Snow/Serah_

_Vanille/Hope (I personally like them, sorry if you don't. There won't be a whole lot of them)_

_I haven't decided what to do with Fang and Prompto. I could put them together, but I'm not sure. What do you think?_

_Summary: Once upon a time, there was a beautiful maiden. This is not her story._

"_We have to keep our dreams alive. Something to look forward to." –Oerba Dia Vanille_

* * *

It was that Noctis. He was real? But it was just a dream! Just a dream…

In the back of my mind though, I knew he was as real as the confusion burning through me. He just kept smiling at me. If he knew anything, he sure wasn't acting like it.

"I'm glad to see you're doing alright," he said sincerely, sounding identical to my dream replica of him. "I'll have to make sure those boys get at least three weeks of cleaning detentions for this."

"Oh, you two haven't met, have you?" Serah asked. "Light, this is Noctis Lucis Caelum, but he likes just Noct. He's an honor roll student too and all the teachers love him."

"It's a pleasure to formally meet you, Miss Farron." He took my hand and kissed it, bringing back the memory of my dream. I quickly slid to the side, away from him.

"Nice to meet you…I have stuff to do."

I made a hasty retreat out the door and out to the front of the school. I checked the big electronic announcement board for the time. It was 3:27. School had been out for about an hour then, which brought a question to mind. Why would Noctis hang around an hour after school to make sure I was okay?

Not that I didn't appreciate a bit, but still. My dream was still giving me a creepy feeling about him. Well, whatever, I had more important things to focus on. Like my essay deadline in two days.

I squared my shoulders and started my routine walk home; there was only one thing different about today. Today would be the last day I'd walk this path.

* * *

There must have been a reason Light had been acting so weird when she saw Noctis. Sure, she wasn't really a people person, but she didn't normally react like that. Maybe she was just hung up on the fact that he was such a gentleman.

I knew Light didn't like being treated like a rose, delicate and beautiful. But Claire most certainly did, and I hoped that Noctis would bring her back. Claire, the best big sister in the world.

Putting thoughts of that out of my mind for now, I walked out of the nurse's office to find a certain somebody waiting on his motorcycle, big stupid grin on his face as usual. I smiled.

"Hey Snow. You didn't have to wait for me silly."

"Of course I have to wait for you, baby." His words were like a verbal caress. "I love you too much to just let you walk home all alone."

I blushed, my cheeks going the same color as my hair. Snow always did know how to flatter me. He patted the spot behind him with a gloved hand. I swung my leg over the seat and wrapped my arms around him tightly. I loved riding on motorcycles, but they still scared me a little.

"Hang on tight, baby," Snow said with a grin.

He took off, me gripping his waist for dear life. He chuckled at me and I could tell he thought my fear of motorcycles was adorable and unnecessary. The drive to my house was a short one, only about 5 minutes away.

"Thanks Snow." I smiled and kissed his cheek, climbing off his bike.

"Not gonna invite me in?" he asked with mock hurt.

I giggled. "Light would kill you, silly."

"True, true."

"Good night, Snow."

"Night, babe." He gave me a quick kiss before driving off.

I headed inside to find the house to be completely empty. That was really strange, considering that Lightning left quite a bit before I did and she could walk home in about 10 minutes.

I went into the kitchen, shrugging it off. She probably decided we needed more groceries or something. Who knew what went on in her mind? Certainly not me, and I was her sister! I grabbed a can of soda and sat down at the table, taking out my homework (yes, I actually did my homework. Otherwise Light would kill me).

I had just started on my math homework (geometry was really easy) when I heard a knock on the door. I sighed, slightly irritated, but answered it anyway. I was immediately glad I did, because a bright and happy face greeted me.

"Serah!" Vanille chirped like her bubbly self.

"Vanille!" I pulled her into a warm hug. "What brings you here?"

She smiled sheepishly. "I need help with my geometry."

"You're in luck. I was just about to start on mine." I stood aside so she could walk through the door. "Come on in."

She skipped in and plopped down on the chair beside mine, pulling out her work. Only two-dimensional figures; how easy!

I quickly began explaining to her how to find the area of a triangle. She picked it up pretty easily after my explanation and started breezing through her work. I was about to start up on mine again when my phone started vibrating. I looked at the caller ID.

It was Noctis of all people.

I picked it up. "Hello?"

"_Hey Serah,"_ came Noct's cool reply. _"Is your sister home yet?"_

"No, not yet. Why?"

"_No reason. I'll talk to you later, okay?"_ He hung up without waiting for any response from me.

I blinked, but quickly recovered and put the phone down. I didn't really care about what was going on between them right then. All I wanted to do right then was finish my geometry!

* * *

Why couldn't the traffic be nice to me for once? I got held up with crossing the street due to some accident and a whole lot of road rage (yes, I could have just walked down the block. Did I want to? No.), so I slipped into the GameStop nearby. It was sort of a "secret hideout" for me. I loved it, but would never admit it.

I was currently playing a demo of the newest RPG. It was called something like Final Fallout XIII or whatever. Apparently it was all the rage. The only thing I really liked about it so far was that pink-haired chick. She was so awesome. Why couldn't I be like her?

"Because life is a bitch," I murmured to myself.

I let my pessimistic thoughts slip away as my mind slowly became engrossed with this wonderful game before me. It was so different and entertaining. I thought for a moment and then decided to buy it. I grabbed the case and brought it over to the counter, quickly getting checked out.

I swung my bag happily as I walked outside. The road had finally cleared up so I could get across. I decided to just jaywalk since the street wasn't very busy. I quickly started walking across when some asshole on a motorcycle decided to almost run into me.

"What the fuck is your problem?" I yelled at him.

He took off his helmet to reveal an already familiar face with a small smirk.

"Your fault for jaywalking," Noctis responded.

* * *

_Obviously the game was her own. ^_^ Well, that's all for now. Let me know what you think! _


	3. Rememberance

_Sorry for the ridiculously long wait, I've been super busy. Anyway, on with the story!_

_Summary: Once upon a time, there was a beautiful maiden. This is not her story._

"_Inside my head, I can hear your voice. Even now my heart is shaking. In my memories, you are always smiling gently at me." – Hatsune Miku_

* * *

Of course he showed up here. How did I not see it coming?

I wanted to glare at him, but for some reason, despite my annoyance, I _smiled_. I actually smiled at this random guy I barely knew, when I hardly ever smiled for my own sister. And I couldn't stop once I started. I clearly wasn't in control of what I was doing, because instead of slapping myself (or him), I laughed a little.

_What the hell?!_ I screamed in my head. I was just getting more pissed.

"Well, since we're so conveniently stopped here, why don't I give you a ride home?" Noctis offered with a smile.

"I'm only about a two minute walk away. I'll be fine," I replied with a voice I didn't recognize at first.

It was softer than mine, sweeter too. Kinder, a little gentler, but still with a little rasp…the sound you would imagine for a freshly fallen rose petal drifting through the air. It wasn't mine all right. It was Claire's.

"Your house is right on the way to mine. Let me give you a ride," he insisted.

"Oh, alright." I felt myself blushing as I got on behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist with my game bag on my wrist.

Okay, I had officially lost any and all control over my actions. It was like being a passenger in a car. You could see and hear everything that was going on, you could feel and smell, but you couldn't do anything to control what you did and where you went. I sighed internally and decided to let this strange personality that had taken over do as it pleased since I damn well couldn't do shit about it.

"So, straight home?" Noctis asked.

"I wouldn't mind taking a detour," I said, holding him a little tighter and smiling more.

He flashed me a grin. "Yes ma'am."

"How many times have I told you by now? Call me Claire."

"As you wish, Claire."

Without another word he sped off. I laughed and enjoyed the sensation of the wind flowing through my hair. I watched my neighborhood fly by as he drove. Somehow, I knew where he was taking me. Sooner than I thought we would, we arrived at the neighborhood park. It puzzled me why it was always empty. It was so lovely.

I let go of his waist and slid off the motorcycle, Noctis following suit. He took my hand and led me over to the big old oak tree that stood near the center of the park. I looked up at the branches fondly, wanting to climb up and sit among the leaves as we used to.

As if sensing my desire (like he always did), Noctis climbed up to the lowermost branch and offered a hand to help me up. I set my bag down at the tree's roots and took his hand with a small smile, hoisting myself up on the branch beside him. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and sighed contentedly.

"I miss times like this, Claire."

I nuzzled his shoulder gently. "I do too, Noct. I want it to be like this all the time. Just you and me."

He grabbed my chin and lifted it gently, bringing my eyes up to meet his. I felt my face flush as he slowly lowered his mouth to mine. As our lips met, I felt a spark that was familiar and completely new at the same time. I felt my arms wrap themselves around his shoulders, my body turning to embrace him better.

He was a gentleman as always, never asking for more than a kiss or two. It was one of the many reasons I…finally! I could feel my senses returning to me completely. I moved my fingers experimentally, my arms still firmly around Noctis's shoulders. I pulled away from his embrace quickly, moving to jump down to the ground. A tiny 5-foot drop.

As I was about to shove myself off the tree branch, a sudden dizziness overtook me.

_It's just a headache,_ I thought. _I'll be fine._

My body disagreed though, as it decided to sway and fall off the branch instead of my smooth dismount I planned. I couldn't tell you for sure if I had landed on the ground or if Noctis had caught me. Why? I was out cold before I ever saw what happened.

* * *

_It was dark, like my dream-vision thing from earlier. There was no music, only silence. I pushed myself up from the ground I was laying on, feeling that it was smooth marble. My feet made more noise than I expected when I stood up. Was I wearing high heels? It felt like I was._

_Not just high heels, but apparently I was wearing a long dress of sorts. Of course, I couldn't see a thing so I didn't know. I reached to run a hand through my hair but didn't feel anything. I reached to the back of my head to find that my hair was styled up in what felt like a neat bun._

_There was a loud noise and a light flicked on. I squinted in the sudden brightness, and as soon as my eyes adjusted I looked around. I was in a large bedroom with marble floors and a titanic sized bed. It looked soft and plush, as did the blankets and pillows. There was a single writing desk to the right of the bed, filled with bottles of ink and quills, pieces of parchment, and extravagant looking seals._

_On the left it was completely open, save for some plush armchairs around a small fireplace. There were two doorways, one leading to a walk-in closet and the other leading to a marvelous hallway. I walked into the closet to see my reflection in the large mirror. I looked like something out of a fairy tale, dressed up like an elegant noble in a long blue gown and an extravagantly styled bun._

"_Effortlessly lovely, as always."_

* * *

My dream ended with those words. Who do you think said it? That damned Noctis of course. Why was he _everywhere_?

I looked around to see that I was still at the park. Said damned Noctis was standing over me worriedly. I quickly stood up, ignoring the dizziness in my head, and started the short walk home.

"Lightning, where are you going?"

I turned and glared at him. "Away from you."

With that, I ran off, leaving all my stuff there. I didn't care. He'd probably find me and give it to me later anyway. It was an uneventful two minute walk home, and I was grateful for it. I finally got inside and happily kicked off my shoes.

"Claire, you're finally back!" Serah smiled at me.

"Yeah, I am. Did you already eat dinner?"

"Yeah, no need to worry about me eating."

I noticed the extra notebook sitting at the table. I raised one eyebrow.

"Who's over?" I asked.

"Oh, Vanille came over for some help with our math homework."

The bubbly redhead bounded happily into the room as she said that. Her eyes fell on me and she smiled brightly.

"Hi Light!"

I smiled a bit. "Hey Vanille. How did the homework go?"

"Okay. Serah helped me figure it out eventually."

"Good to hear." I yawned quietly. "I'm going to go to my room. Just yell if you need me."

"Alright. G'night, Light," Vanille said with a smile.

"Good night, Claire," Serah told me with a small kiss on the cheek.

I kissed her forehead and walked up to my room. I plopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling. Then I realized something. I had forgotten my damn bag there. I groaned, knowing Noctis would come back over here to return it. Whatever, I didn't even care.

I yawned once more and took off my jacket as I pulled the covers over me. I closed my eyes and dozed off, ignoring the possibility of another dream about him.

* * *

_Once again, it was dark and I was on the ground. Wait, no, not the ground. It was too soft to be the ground. I was on a bed, a really soft and expensive one too. I sighed happily and burrowed myself in my sheets, feeling warm and comfortable._

_I felt something shift beside me. I reached a hand over blindly and felt soft hair. I figured it might be Serah, but it was too short to be Serah's hair. A dog maybe? No, there was skin there too. I didn't really care who it was until a heard a soft chuckle._

"_Are you enjoying my hair, milady?" Noctis asked gently, being quiet so as not to disturb me too much._

_I stretched and smiled. "It's very soft."_

_He grabbed my hand that was in his hair and brought it down to his lips, kissing it. I curled up to him and kissed his cheek, loving how perfectly we fit together, physically and mentally. We were a perfect mix of agreements and disagreements, having things in common and things that were contrasting. I sighed happily and just let him wrap his arms around me._

"_Claire?"_

_I looked up at him. "Hm?"_

"_There is something I must tell you."_

"_Then tell me."_

_He took a deep breath. I immediately sensed his seriousness and propped myself up on my elbow, now wide awake._

"_My parents have arranged an engagement between me and Liliana Kingsley."_

_My eyes widened like disks. "You can't be serious. You can't marry."_

"_I wouldn't marry her for all the money in the world," he assured me as he ran a hand through my hair. "I'm telling you this because I want you to run away with me."_

"_Noctis, I think you've been reading too many love stories. We can't actually do that."_

"_Of course we can." He kissed my lips sweetly and held my hands. "I love you, Claire, and I know you love me. So let's run away together, so we can be happy. You can be my princess, and I'll be your prince."_

_I let out a laugh. "I'm not exactly a princess now, am I?"_

"_I suppose not," he said with a chuckle. "But is that a yes or a no?"_


End file.
